Going to your first formal dance is a cherished memory in many people’s lives.

The anticipation and excitement of waiting for the big day to arrive. Desperately trying to summon the courage before asking that special girl to be your date. Being fitted for a suit or gown more opulent than any you’ve dared to wear before.

Having your hair done, painting your nails, the hours-long process of getting ready for the dance. A chance to feel handsome or beautiful, knowing that the whole event has been specially prepared for you and your friends – and maybe even an opportunity to meet somebody new.

These are fond memories for many of us, but ones frequently missed by adults with developmental disabilities. So the level of excitement tipped the scales as the men and women of Quality Life Concepts prepared for their first-ever Winter Formal dinner and dance Saturday.

Their enthusiasm was infectious.

“They are super excited,” said Katie Campbell of the eight young women preparing for the dance at the South Park Group Home Campbell manages. “They’ve been excited since they started trying on dresses a few weeks ago. They had hair and makeup appointments at 11:30, then they’ll head back up to the group home when they’re done about 1 to start getting ready and prepped for the day.”

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Tina Wright adjusts her flower headband while she waits outside Quality Life Concepts for a ride to a winter formal at First Church of the Nazarene Saturday.(Photo: TRIBUNE PHOTO/JULIA MOSS)

At 2:45, a stretch limousine pulled up to whisk the girls away to the dance. The surprise arrival was greeted by squeals and laughter.

“I think I’m going to cry,” said one excited passenger as she headed toward the waiting limo.

The young women at South Park were just a small contingent of the nearly 200 men, women and their escorts coming from all across northcentral Montana to attend the winter formal hosted by Quality Life Concepts.

QLC is a nonprofit care providing organization for adults with developmental needs. As part of their mission to provide meaningful social opportunities to people with disabilities, QLC typically hosts dances about four times a year. But this was something different.

“This little idea just blossomed,” said Lynn Morley, director of adult services. “Let’s have a winter formal. It’s an idea that has taken off like you cannot believe.”

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Approximately 130 people attended the Quality Life Concepts Winter Formal for developmentally disabled individuals at First Church of the Nazarene Saturday.(Photo: TRIBUNE PHOTO/JULIA MOSS)

“The excitement is almost overwhelming some of them,” said Mary Willmarth, a QLC representative. “Most have never attended anything like this in their lives or worn any type of formal clothing.”

Participation in the winter formal was not limited by age or ability. The youngest guest was just 16; the oldest more than 90. Some were youthful and energetic, others took to the dance floor in their wheelchairs or had difficulty hearing the music do to hearing loss.

None of that mattered. It was all about having fun, and feeling free to dance, laugh and be who you are without the fear of not fitting in.

“All of us are social beings,” Morley explained. “We want to have friends, we want to be accepted, we want to go do things and have fun. Just because you have a disability doesn’t make that any different, but the opportunities to act on that aren’t always the same.”

“Getting to engage and to have friends who are really glad to see you when you get there is huge,” she added.

It was as exciting and emotional for the QLC staff as it was for the official guests.

“These young ladies are an extension of our own personal families,” Campbell said of her own attachment to the women of the South Park Group Home. “We all have that same reaction like we would if it was our own kids going to prom – teary-eyed, hand over your face. It’s been a big thing for the whole company.”

Morley spoke of watching one 92-year-old client being fitted for the first prom dress she had ever worn.

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Kayla Udelhoven laughs when she realizes she will ride to the Quality Life Concepts Winter Formal in a limo Saturday.(Photo: TRIBUNE PHOTO/JULIA MOSS)

“We were all standing around with tears falling down our faces,” she said. “She was so impressed with how she looked.”

Once word of the formal dance spread, businesses and volunteers from across northcentral Montana rallied to make the event extra special. C.M Russell High School, Great Falls High School and A Time or Two women’s clothing store all loaned formal dresses so the ladies could look their best.

National Laundry donated its dry cleaning services to spruce up the dresses after the event was over; the First Church of the Nazarene donated its space without charge and local stylists from across the area came together to help with make-up, nails and hair styling.

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Quality Life Concepts clients rode to their winter formal at First Church of the Nazarene in a limo Saturday.(Photo: TRIBUNE PHOTO/JULIA MOSS)

At South Side Group Home, the staff pitched in to pay for the limousine to take the girls to the dance.

“We wanted to take the extra steps to make them feel like princesses, so we were able to reserve the limo and we made them some handmade corsages,” Campbell said.

“It’s been unbelievable how generous and kind and thoughtful people have been to QLC and our clients,” Morley added. “You can’t put a price on it.”

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Marilynn Coryell's manicured nails match her dress for the Quality Life Concepts Winter Formal at First Church of the Nazarene Saturday.(Photo: TRIBUNE PHOTO/JULIA MOSS)